Posts by Russell Moffitt
Marine Conservation Institute Commends IUCN’s Commitment to Protecting the Ocean’s Twilight Zone
News Release Marine Conservation Institute Commends IUCN’s Commitment to Protecting the Ocean’s Twilight Zone By Marine Conservation Institute | October 14, 2025 Today, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) voted to pass Motion 035, “Protection of mesopelagic ecosystem integrity,” at the World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi. This landmark decision calls for applying a…
Read MoreBottom-contact fishing persists in protected deep-sea habitats despite EU closures, new study finds
A new analysis of the world’s largest 100 marine protected areas (MPAs) published today in Conservation Letters suggests that governments are falling short on delivering the promise of effective biodiversity protection due to slow implementation of management strategies and failure to restrict the most impactful activities.
Read MoreNew Ocean Conservation Priorities that Deliver on the Promise of America the Beautiful
Today, that story map highlighting the efforts of eight Iindigenous, Ttribal, and community-led groups around the country is ready to spread the good news about efforts to create new areas and strengthen existing ones to protect our coasts, preserve marine life, and fight the impacts of climate change. We need those places to be designated, protected, and managed for conservation and sustainable livelihoods.
Read MoreWorld’s First Deep-Water Coral Marine Protected Area Established in 1984 Off Florida Coast Now Facing Threat
Can the Biden-Harris administration move forward with America the Beautiful Plan if NOAA and Regional Fishery Management Councils Move Backwards? Friday, April 29, 2022Seattle, WA, USA Contacts: Mike Gravitz, Director of Policy and LegislationMarine Conservation InstituteMichael.Gravitz@marine-conservation.org301 351 5052 cell Dr. Lance Morgan, PresidentMarine Conservation InstituteLance.Morgan@marine-conservation.org+1 707 217 8242 cell Shari Anker, PresidentConservation Alliance of St.…
Read MoreCalling for Greater Leadership from G20 Countries for Strong and Lasting Protection of the World’s Oceans
Download the Report: SeaStates G20 2018 Executive Summary SeaStates G20 2018 Full Report More details along with the complete series of SeaStates reports created by Marine Conservation Institute available at https://marine-conservation.org/seastates/ and https://marine-conservation.org/seastates/g20/2018/ Following the annual World Economic Forum at Davos, January 22-25, our staff at the Marine Protection Atlas released a new report on…
Read MoreYear End Bonus: Marine Biodiversity Boosted by Massive Conservation Areas
This a quarterly update from the Marine Protection Atlas (mpatlas.org) team. Be sure to visit mpatlas.org for the latest information and analyses on marine protected area coverage worldwide. It’s a good day to be a krill, penguin, seal, toothfish, or an orca. They have been waiting a whole year for the Ross Sea Protected Area to come…
Read MoreHow to Protect the Living Ocean?
We are packing up our bags, computers, maps, and brochures and flying to Chile. No, we are not fleeing the current political regime in the U.S. We are going to the beachside city of La Serena-Coquimbo for the 4th International Congress of Marine Protected Areas (IMPAC4). Every four years, the global conservation community gathers at…
Read MoreHow Much of Our Ocean Is Protected?
How much of the world’s ocean have humans safeguarded within reserves, refuges and parks to protect marine biodiversity? It is tricky to provide a single clear answer to this question for a number of reasons. It’s trickier still to say which of them are effective at conservation because any number of planning, management and enforcement…
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